Undergraduate Course: Comparative Politics in a Globalized World (PLIT08008)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will provide students with the conceptual knowledge and practical skills to understand comparative politics in a globalized world. It introduces the comparative method, and applies that method to core questions and issues of comparative and international politics. These questions will cover political regimes, state formation and institutions, political and economic development, democracy, order and violence. |
| Course description |
Week 1. Introduction : Studying comparative politics in a globalized world
Q: What makes a good comparativist; Why compare?
Week 2. The Comparative Method
Q: How to compare; how to study variation across and within states (case studies, two-unit comparisons, multiple-unit comparisons, and mixed designs)
ISSUES / QUESTIONS
Weeks 3/4. Comparative Political Systems (political culture, types of govt regimes)
Q: What makes a democracy; can democracy be imposed from abroad?
Weeks 5 -7 (week 6 is Reading/ILW) Comparative Institutions
(Constitutions, legislatures, parties; electoral systems, pressure groups)
Q: Where does power lie within states; why do institutions develop differently?
Weeks 8/9. Economic Development and Globalization
Q: What determines how states develop? Why are some countries rich while others are poor? Why does globalization affect states differently?
Week 10. Order and conflict
(How states impose order; sources of conflict)
Q: What causes revolutions? Why terrorism? Is terrorism changing in a globalized world?
Week 11. Conclusion & revision
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2016/17, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 366 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
164 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
40 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Recognise the diversity of political systems around the world and their key components
- Explain why political systems differ, and how those differences shape domestic and global politics
- Understand the logic of the comparative method and be able to apply it to real world events and outcomes
- Assess the value of comparative political science for understanding current events and global relations
- Effectively communicate comparative political analysis in written and oral forms
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Reading List
Lim, T.C. (2006), Doing Comparative Politics: An Introduction to Approaches and Issues (Boulder: Lynne Riener).
Hague, R and Harrop, M. (2013) Comparative Government and Politics, 9th ed.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Nicola Mcewen
Tel: (0131 6)51 1831
Email: N.McEwen@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Daniel Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3932
Email: Daniel.Jackson@ed.ac.uk |
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